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The Chase Sapphire Reserve is a top-tier travel credit card. It has a valuable rewards program, incredible protection benefits, and a large number of partner merchants. We’ve listed the top 10 perks in this Chase Sapphire Reserve benefits guide to help you decide if this card is right for you.
However, do keep in mind that we won’t be discussing the card’s interest rates, fees, and other technical information, but rather the rewards and perks.
1. Valuable Sapphire Reserve Benefits
The Sapphire Reserve lets cardholders earn 5x points on air travel, 10x points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards(R) immediately after spending $300 on travel purchases annually, 3X points on other travel and dining, and 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases. The points are worth 1.5 cents each, and you can use them to redeem various rewards on Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Chase has partnered with over 350+ merchants. If you purchase from their website you’ll get an additional 1-15 points.
2. $300 Annual Travel Credit
Chase’s $300 annual travel credit is already a big bonus, especially if you’re already spending that amount of money per year. The bonus credit is actually more significant compared to other top-tier cards such as the American Express Platinum for Business which only offers a $200 travel credit.
If you want to redeem the travel credit, just spend your first $300 on any travel purchase, and you’ll be reimbursed by Chase.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Chase has expanded the travel credit to include restaurant, gas station, and grocery store spending through December 31, 2021.
3. Sign-Up Bonus & Perks
New members can get a sign-up bonus that’s worth 50,000 points if they spend at least $4,000 within the first three months of opening the card. This bonus is worth $750 if you redeem them on the Chase Ultimate Rewards website.
Keep in mind the annual fee went up from $450 to $550 in 2020, but there were also additional perks and benefits that Chase included in this card to justify the increase. For example, cardholders can obtain a complimentary Lyft Pink membership for one year and a DoorDash DashPass subscription. Both the Lyft and DoorDash memberships cost $19.99 and $9.99 per month respectively, so that’s a lot of savings if you sum that up for the entire year.
4. Airport Lounge Access
Now, this is probably one of the most valuable Chase Sapphire Reserve benefits in this guide, especially if you’re a frequent flyer. The Priority Pass membership costs $429 annually if bought separately, but you can get it for free with the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
The card gives you a complimentary Priority Pass Select membership where you can access more than 1,200 airport lounges worldwide. These lounges have bathrooms, snacks, wine, and of course, fast WiFi.
5. Zero Foreign Transaction Fees
Chase Sapphire Reserve is made for travelers who don’t only fly within the U.S. but also abroad. The card has waived all foreign transaction fees for purchases made abroad.
Some cards, such as the Chase Ink Business Cash, charge a 3% fee for every transaction made, and that’s a lot of money lost if shopping is your hobby.
6. $100 Credit for TSA PreChek or Global Entry
TSA or Global is perfect for frequent flyers who want to get past security without the long lines. If you purchase the two memberships individually, they would cost $85 and $100 respectively every five years.
If you’re a Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholder, you’ll get a reimbursement fee for the service you purchased every four years.
7. Car Rental Collision Damage Insurance
Car rental services do not usually include insurance, so it’s a good thing your Chase Sapphire Reserve benefits include a $75,000 coverage on collision damage or theft. It covers almost all car accidents, except for acts of nature such as flood and hail storms.
8. Trip Cancellation and Interruption Insurance
This feature is perfect for situations where you have medical emergencies, weather interruptions, or other situations where you need to cancel flights or hotel bookings. If you used your credit card to pay for these cancelled bookings, the trip cancellation and interruption insurance, worth $20,000, would cover the cost.
The insurance covers the primary cardholder and immediate family members. You don’t have to be with your family members for the insurance to kick in, but you just need to use your credit card for the purchase.
9. Missing Luggage and Travel Delay Reimbursement
You’ll receive a $500 maximum travel delay coverage which you can use for hotel bookings and meals. The delay must be at least six hours for the reimbursement to kick in.
Meanwhile, lost luggage has coverage that’s worth $3000 per passenger, which applies both to the primary cardholders and immediate family members.
10. Transferable Points
Chase has a vast network of partner merchants and what’s great about this is you can transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to other programs. Transferred points will not lose their value because of the 1:1 ratio.
For example, if you want to convert 20,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Southwest Rapid Reward miles, you will get 20,000 miles in return. You can then use these miles to redeem flights in the Rapid Rewards frequent flyer program.
What Points Panda Recommends
Is it worth it? The answer is yes, only if you spend a lot of money on travel. The total value of all the benefits heavily outweighs the $550 annual fee. You need to have excellent credit too, so if you’re a beginner, you can opt for a few starter cards that we’ve reviewed such as the Discover It, Discover It Miles, and Chase Freedom Flex. You can also sign up for our travel concierge and get unlimited credit card consultation and award booking assistance for one whole year!
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